Well its September, I should be on week long ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway,,but not this year. It has been a rough summer, off work for 5 weeks due to an injury . That has left the bank account to low for that trip. so,,plan B.
9/24/09, Thursday morning I meet Steve for breakfast at Carl's townhouse, we are leaving for a 3 day trip through Kentucky. I check the forecast that morning, yep,,we will be getting wet. I don't care, been wet before and it will be good to get back on the road. I have not been on a trip in 3 months, have had a few day rides and a couple of poker runs,, but no trips.
We leave town west bound on route 50, 20 miles to Bainbridge where we turn south on route 41. to Aberdeen Ohio, cross the Ohio River and we are in Maysville Ky. The sun is out, well sort of..but at least we have not hit rain yet. In Maysville we pick up route 11 south,, I have not traveled this section of 11 and am glad to get the chance to. Route 11 is a two lane road that weaves through rural Ky. passing farmland and rolling hills with a few good curves to keep you on your toes. Mid day we roll into Mount Sterling , breakfast is wearing thin so we stop at Jerry's restaurant for lunch. Back on the road, a few miles south of town the sky lets loose and the rain pours. We pull off the road, dig out the rain gear and suit up. We pull into Clay city KY., I have a stop to make. Carmichael's Leather and bike accessories , a store we found on last years Ky. ride. Last year Wook and I stopped there to escape the hot August sun, today Steve and I stop in to escape a downpour. We go inside, look around and talk to the owners for about a half hour or so. With the rain letting up, we say our goodbyes and promise to stop in next year.
We continue south on route 11 through Stanton and on to route 77 ( Nada tunnel road) We stop for pictures at the tunnel, then continue on to route 715, we stop at Gladie house, a restored log cabin that was built in the 1800s. We continue on through the red river gorge area and end up in Pine Ridge KY. Here we stop at the True North Inn for directions and a meal. We pull in thinking it was just a restaurant.
This turned out to be a great find, we were greeted by the proprietor, Jeff Colombo. Jeff moved to the area from Michigan after his job was moved overseas. He is an avid rock climber, and one hell of a cook. He runs the inn with his fiancee, Gloria. We did not have the pleasure of meeting her as she was out of town on business. The True North Inn offers lodging, dining, and adventure outings . While not a traditional biker hangout, it is biker friendly, if you find yourself in the area do yourself a favor and stop in. They are located at 20 sky bridge road Pine Ridge Ky. We are already planning a trip back to the Inn next year.
